NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

Student Name

Capella University

NHS-FPX 5004 Communication, Collaboration, and Case Analysis for Master’s Learners

Prof. Name:

Date

Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

In today’s interconnected world, individuals are responsible for leading teams, collaborating with diverse stakeholders, and facing complex ethical dilemmas. Leadership is the ability to guide and inspire toward a shared vision; effective collaboration works effectively with stakeholders to achieve shared goals, and moral decision-making is essential for maintaining trust, integrity, and accountability (Modha, 2021). In the following sections, we will explore instances of leadership, collaboration, and ethics in context, analyze approaches to addressing challenges, and reflect on lessons learned. 

Section 1: Leadership and Collaboration Experience

Analysis of Leadership Qualities and Actions

A few years back, during my tenure as a nursing unit manager at St. John’s Hospital, I was asked to lead and motivate a multidisciplinary team of seven members, two surgeons, anesthesiologists, and four nurses to improve patient outcomes in our medical-surgical unit. The surgical unit is busy and critical due to the patient’s complex needs. The team members, including health professionals and nurses, needed more coordination. Patients were unsatisfied with the healthcare delivery, feeling unheard and unattended pre and post-surgery. The nursing faculty in the surgical unit also complained about burnout for continuous duty hours. St. John’s Hospital is known for its commitment to providing compassionate care and excellence in medical services in the community. However, there were significant coordination and management issues in the surgical unit. 

The project aimed to enhance patient care delivery and streamline workflow processes to ensure better patient outcomes and patient and nurse satisfaction. The company’s shared vision was to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care that prioritized safety, efficiency, and quality of care. In leading the project, I adopted a transformational leadership approach, valuing input from team members, inspiring them, and encouraging collaboration (Lindert et al., 2022). Choosing a transformational leadership approach aimed at finding bottom-line issues in delivering care for surgical unit patients and nurses’ performance. Firstly, I conducted meetings with nurses in the surgical unit, listened to their reasons for burnout, and individually talked with patients to make them feel heard and attended to.

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

After the meeting, I assigned designated shift hours and responsibilities by dividing patients to each nurse with 40-minute breaks in between to reduce burnout. This leadership style helped me foster an open and inclusive environment with the active engagement of the team members in the surgical unit through meetings and feedback mechanisms. Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with healthcare professionals from various disciplines, including nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and allied health staff, which is necessary to avoid surgical mishaps (Sillero & Buil, 2021). With assistance from the nursing faculty in the surgical unit, I could communicate updates with professional healthcare members in time, enhancing the quality of care and satisfaction among all stakeholders.  It cultivated a sense of ownership and accountability with team members’ contributions through ideas and expertise in the project. 

As a nursing education leader, I acknowledge the responsibilities and potential of collaboration and communication and the core values of nursing practices. Values such as Altruism, which means being compassionate and empathetic to others; human dignity, which allows respect for patients and colleagues; and integrity are essential and core values of nursing faculty (Poreddi et al., 2021). All stakeholders, including patients, nurses, and healthcare professionals, were informed about the accessibility of services; for instance, patients knew which nurses were aligned with them.

Similarly, surgeons and anesthesiologists know the nurses who could provide patient information and updates on their progress in the surgical unit, ensuring accurate and timely care delivery. Lastly, nurses know they have shift hours, break time, responsibilities, and accountability. So, to achieve goals and transparent sharing of objectives, progress, and challenges, I fostered trust and alignment among stakeholders, ensuring everyone was informed and invested in the project of enhancing patient outcomes in the surgical unit by aligning processes.

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

The collaborative decision-making process, which involved collaborative discussions and consensus-building among team members at the hospital, was utilized. For instance, online forms for anonymous feedback from patients and their families were conducted every month, which helped address concerns (Locock et al., 2020). Additionally, by leveraging the team members’ diverse skills and perspectives, we could make informed decisions that aligned with our vision and goals of the project of enhancing patient care and satisfaction in the surgical unit, motivating team members simultaneously.

While most team members, like surgeons and allied health workers, were actively collaborating with the assistance of nurses, there was a need for motivation among the nursing faculty of the surgical unit. After this, I realized the importance of appreciation criteria and encouragement for full potential collaboration. Acknowledging nurses’ efforts in meetings alleviates nurses’ morale to fulfill their roles with maximum potential and enhances patient care through careful interaction.

My decision to conduct daily, bi-weekly, and monthly meetings was beneficial because it kept everyone on track to enhance patient care and satisfaction in the surgical unit.  It allowed me to monitor progress all along, making adjustments proactively. I communicated vision, values, and decisions, for example, the importance of a patient’s needs in a critical setting of a surgical unit, face-to-face acknowledging nurses’ concerns about burnout and patients’ concerns about being unattended. It enabled a straightforward approach to make health professionals, nurses, and patients aware of the rights and duties in the surgical unit during care delivery and receiving duration. For instance, patients’ rights to be attended to, heard, respected, and addressed needs in-patient and out-patient concerns, the duties of a nurse to listen and respect each patient’s needs and report fluctuations immediately to health professionals. 

Analysis of Leadership and Motivational Techniques

For the surgical unit’s effectiveness, I had to utilize multiple leadership and motivational techniques for better patient outcomes through collaboration among nurses, surgeons, patients, and other stakeholders. This was an excellent opportunity for me to develop an understanding of the vision and lead by motivating and engaging team members. As a project leader, my approach to leading was effective collaboration strategies such as open-door policy and active listening in alignment with empathy and dedication to nursing practices.

I utilized various communication channels to communicate the project’s vision, values, and decisions, for example, daily team huddles before shifts, bi-weekly email updates, and monthly staff meetings to track the progress of the initiatives. I ensured that key messages were communicated clearly and consistently, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, innovation, and client satisfaction. Electronic Health Records (EHR) were utilized to track patients’ progress and share it with health professionals with as holistic a view as possible by nursing faculty assistance in managing information electronically.

Additionally, I mentored for open dialogue and feedback loop, creating a culture of transparency and continuous improvement within the team, especially nurses who are essential for daily and constant care in the surgical unit (Atthayasai et al., 2023). I facilitated collaboration and motivation at the hospital through various team-building activities, for instance, training in Crew Resource Management (CRM) to enhance patient safety at the surgical unit. (Samardzic et al., 2020). I also worked consistently on regular progress reviews,  shared online forums like Google Docs, and recognized achievements to guide nurses in effectively addressing patients’ needs at the surgical unit.

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

 Moreover, I provided opportunities for skill development and growth through organizational redesigning by assigning responsibilities and shift hours. It allowed team members to be empowered to take ownership of their work, contribute meaningfully to the project, and maximize their potential (Arnold & Fleshman, 2020). Moreover, I overcame challenges by aligning the core values of nursing practices and proven leadership techniques such as collaborative decision-making, Frederick’s Dual motivation approach, and open communication. I adopted a motivational theory by Frederick Herzberg, who states that dual factors known as hygiene and motivation are influential for employee job satisfaction (Karaferis et al., 2022).

Hygiene factors entail satisfactory salaries or supervision-related factors, while motivation entails appreciation and recognition for efforts. For an appreciation of nurses, peer-recognition techniques like nominating the best team member of the week in the surgical unit to appreciate innovative solutions or enhanced patient-care services can improve conflicts and create an appreciative culture among nurses (Gillespie & Reader, 2020). I drove collaboration among stakeholders, maintaining individual dignity and respect for patients, nurses, and healthcare professionals, delivering a successful outcome for the project. The team felt motivated due to seamless processes; for instance, healthcare professionals gained organized information on patients, and nurses were not overburdened or working haphazardly but in a straight direction through assigned patients.

Through the utilization of regular meetings and EHR, the team was able to communicate with each other effectively and timely. Improved patient experience, health outcomes in surgical units, and nurses’ reduced burnout rate after a couple of months ensured the result of an effective intervention. The purpose of developing an inclusive team with recognized roles and responsibilities was achieved progressively. 

Section 2: Ethics Experience

Analysis of Ethical Decision-Making in Healthcare

As a professional nursing leader, I encountered an ethical dilemma about patient confidentiality and privacy. In one instance, a patient disclosed sensitive information regarding their health condition during a consultation. The patient was a 35-year-old male who accidentally mentioned he had AIDS. After accidentally stating this fact, he was concerned and distressed due to the stigma associated with this disease and wanted to keep it confidential for the sake of avoiding discrimination.

Subsequently, a colleague inadvertently shared this information with another staff member during a team meeting for life-threatening disease care. Unaware of the patient’s request to keep it private. She was unaware and assumed it to be common knowledge among all members present in the meeting, breaching the patient’s confidentiality, potentially causing emotional distress, and undermining the patient’s confidence in the healthcare system. 

It was an ethical dilemma of great concern because it can damage a colleague’s professional status if the breach is mentioned or harm the patient with distrust and distress. I mentioned the privacy and breach in the meeting to protect any involuntary disclosure of the patient’s information beyond the walls of the meeting hall. If I had not mentioned it, there was a high chance of the patient finding out about the breach and stress about its disclosure to any family member, putting his mental health at risk. 

Furthermore, I facilitated open communication with my colleague and the healthcare team to address the incident transparently and implement strategies to prevent similar occurrences. By acknowledging the mistake and collaborating on solutions through signing confidentiality contracts, training, and limiting access to patient information, we reinforced the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality and upholding ethical standards within the organization (Ewuoso et al., 2021). 

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

LEADS framework allows healthcare leaders to take steps to bring change by applying best practices (Udod et al., 2023). Utilizing the LEADS framework, which states steps as Listening, Empathizing, Analyzing, directing, and Sustaining, I made decisions thoughtfully and ethically. Firstly, I listened to the patient’s concern about not sharing the HIV information, but I also listened to the nurse’s unintentional breach of information. I empathize with the patient’s emotional and experiential response to the stigma and distress associated with HIV, his mental health issues, and also the guilt and remorse for disclosing information and its potential consequences at the end of my colleague. Next, I analyzed the ethical dimensions of the dilemma, considering factors like professional obligation, moral principles of honesty, and consequences of not addressing it timely.

The process included an analysis of the ethical tenets like patient confidentiality, autonomy, beneficence, maleficence, and professional integrity. To address this moral dilemma of saving a colleague’s professional status and integrity or a patient’s autonomy and trust, I directed toward a solution enabling the team to promote the well-being of all stakeholders. It was directed to avoid such breach incidents again through confidentiality breach contracts to further not mention patients’ diagnosis and training to manage information effectively. Lastly, to adhere to confidentiality protocols and ensure ethical conduct and professionalism, training about privacy protocols is suggested with continuous monitoring so the resolution is sustained over a long time.

In alignment with the LEADS framework, my initial response focused on acknowledging the breach and taking immediate action to address the situation. Recognizing the gravity of the incident, I proactively engaged with the colleague responsible for the disclosure to convey the seriousness of the breach. However, I suggested the involuntary and accidental breach, advocating for my colleague not to face severe repercussions in the form of monetary fines or penalties like canceling a professional license. Emphasis on maintaining patient confidentiality through training, education, and strict policies to keep information confidential was essential (Tariq & Hackert, 2023). By approaching the issue with transparency and accountability, I aimed to establish a foundation for resolving the ethical dilemma and preventing similar occurrences. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, this self-assessment underscores the importance of effective leadership, collaboration, and ethical decision-making. Through reflection on past experiences, I have identified strengths and areas for improvement, reaffirming my commitment to continuous growth. I aim to leverage these insights to enhance my leadership effectiveness, foster collaboration, and uphold ethical standards. I am poised to make meaningful contributions to my organization and the broader community by embracing lifelong learning and self-improvement.

References

ACHE. (2023, December 5). ACHE code of ethics. Www.ache.org. https://www.ache.org/about-ache/our-story/our-commitments/ethics/ache-code-of-ethics#:~:text=professional%20activities%20with%20honesty%2C%20integrity 

Arnold, D., & Fleshman, J. W. (2020). Leadership in the setting of the operating room surgical team. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, 33(04), 191–194. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1709442 

Atthayasai, J., Chatchumni, M., Eriksson, H., & Mazaheri, M. (2023). Surgical nurses’ perceptions of strategies to enhance pain management proficiency: A qualitative study. Nursing Reports, 13(2), 923–933. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13020081 

Bornman, J., & Louw, B. (2023). Leadership development strategies in interprofessional healthcare collaboration: A rapid review. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 15(1), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S405983 

Ewuoso, C., Hall, S., & Dierickx, K. (2021). How do healthcare professionals respond to ethical challenges regarding information management? A review of empirical studies. Global Bioethics, 32(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2021.1909820  

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

Gillespie, A., & Reader, T. W. (2020). Identifying and encouraging high-quality healthcare: an analysis of the content and aims of patient letters of compliment. BMJ Quality & Safety, bmjqs-2019-010077. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2019-010077 

Karaferis, D., Aletras, V., Raikou, M., & Niakas, D. (2022). Factors influencing motivation and work engagement of healthcare professionals. Materia Socio Medica, 34(3), 216. https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2022.34.216-224 

Lindert, L., Zeike, S., Choi, K.-E. (Anna), & Pfaff, H. (2022). Transformational leadership and employees’ psychological wellbeing: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 676. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010676 

Locock, L., Skea, Z., Alexander, G., Hiscox, C., Laidlaw, L., & Shepherd, J. (2020). Anonymity, veracity and power in online patient feedback: A quantitative and qualitative analysis of staff responses to patient comments on the “Care Opinion” platform in Scotland. DIGITAL HEALTH, 6, 205520761989952. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207619899520 

Modha, B. (2021). Collaborative leadership with a focus on stakeholder identification and engagement and ethical leadership: A dental perspective. British Dental Journal, 231(6), 355–359. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-3457-2 

Poreddi, V., Narayanan, A., Thankachan, A., Joy, B., Awungshi, C., & Reddy, S. S. N. (2021). Professional and ethical values in nursing practice: An Indian perspective. Investigacion Y Educacion En Enfermeria, 39(2). https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v39n2e12 

NHS FPX 5004 Assessment 4 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics

Samardzic, M. B., Doekhie, K. D., & Wijngaarden, J. D. H. van . (2020). Interventions to improve team effectiveness within health care: A systematic review of the past decade. Human Resources for Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0411-3 

Sillero, A., & Buil, N. (2021). Enhancing interprofessional collaboration in perioperative setting from the qualitative perspectives of physicians and nurses. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(20), 10775. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010775 

Tariq, R. A., & Hackert, P. B. (2023, January 23). Patient confidentiality. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519540/ 

Udod, S., Baxter, P., Gagnon, S., Charski, V., & Raja, S. (2023). Embracing relational competencies in applying the LEADS framework for healthcare leaders in transformational change and the COVID-19 pandemic. PubMed. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs-12-2022-0117